The Dallas Stars enter the 2006/07 with a new GM, a new attitude, but the same goal. The Stars will be challenging for the 8th and final playoff spot. Anything less would be considered a disappointment this season.
Marc Crawford enters his first season as CPHL head coach for the Dallas Stars. Crawford is an emotional coach who always brings out the best in his players. He will be counted on to lead this mix of veterans and youth to the playoffs and hopefully beyond.
The goaltending duties will rest upon the shoulders of 41 year old net minder Ed Belfour who will have Nolan Shaefer to back him up at the start of the season. Belfour is an accomplished goaltender, but will have to stand on his head this season if the Stars are to make a push for the 8th spot in the very tough Howe Conference. Patrick Lalime was moved for help up front, and until Schaefer can prove he is ready to take on the #1 role, Belfour will be the man in Dallas. The big question in big D is how much does Eddie the Eagle have left in the tank?
Player to watch: Ed Belfour
The blueline made some moves after GM Shah took over. The Stars got younger on defence adding the likes of Jason Strudwick, Jordon Leopold, and Anton Volchenkov to the mix. "These are not moves for this season only. These are moves for the future of the franchise. We believe that Anton will be a 75OV defenceman, while Leo will mature into a 78-79OV dman." The trio will join returnig Adrian Aucoin, Jassen Cullimore, and Brad Ference to round out the Top 6 on defence. The Stars do not have a top end defenceman, but there was some solid depth added to make the blue line more well rounded.
Player to watch: Jordon Leopold
The big splash made this offseason was when the Stars acquired Alex Tanguay from the Philadelphia Flyers that sent Maxim Afiniganov and Alyn McCauly the other way. With Tanguay and Keith Primeau, the Stars now boast one of the best 1-2 punches at center in the whole CPHL. Richard Zednik who was also brought in via the same trade recently signed a new 3 year, $12.75M dollar contract to remain in Dallas long term. Emerging Jason Williams was also brough in to bring much needed help on the wing. Depth players such as Richard Park, and Mike Leclerc were acquired to enable the entire opening night roster to have a 70OV rating or higher. "We believe that Mike and Richard are an improvment on Milan (Kraft) and Shane (Endicott). We really wanted to have all our lines have players with a OV of 70 or higher. We had to give up some good young players like Andrei Taratukhin, but we felt that it was justified given the deep prospect pool we have." Veteran winger Jeff O'Neill was also brought in for Bryan Smolinski to shore up the wings. Young promising Milan Michalek will be counted on to take a bigger role with this team this season. "Milan is a player that we believe will be a star in this league. We hope he continues to develop into a 78-79OV forward."
Player to watch: Alex Tanguay
Unless no further moves are made, the Stars opening night line up will look like this:
Michalek (74) - Tanguay (80) - Zednik (74)
Williams (74) - Primeau (78) - O'Neill (74)
Leclerc (72) - Betts (72) - Park (73)
Smith (73) - Beech (70) - Kolanos (71)
Aucion (77) - Cullimore (74)
Leopold (74) - Strudwick (73)
Volchenkov (71) - B. Ference (71)
Belfour (77)
Schaefer (71)
The Dallas Stars would like to wish everyone the best for the 2006-07 CPHL season.
Stars 2006/07 preview
